Audi A3 Review

The Review

Long Term Review (3 Years Plus) Hatchbacks Audi A3 A3 Sportback (8V) - (2013) 1.4 TFSI (125 Hp)

Really good drive and great family car.

Summary

As far as practical good all rounders go, many would argue that you don't get more rounded and practical than an Audi A3. So I caught up with an owner who has had her A3 1.4 TFSI 5 door for the last 3 years, to see what she thought of this car.

This owner's first impressions of the car way back when, was that it seemed like a good, well sized and practical family car! Before they landed on the A3, they looked at both the equivalent offerings from Mercedes (A Class) and BMW (1 Series) which both on comparison seemed smaller inside. I for one find the same, especially with BMW, which are just smaller inside in general, regardless of the outside width or length.

The driver on the A3 is seems as smooth and comfortable and owner is particularly found of the different drive modes, whilst at the same time confesses to not using them too much, The boot space is good, which we cover a little more in the practicality section below. Given this was purchased as a car from dropping her little princess off to nursery and shopping, this owner is very happy with the A3 as an solid drive for any small family.

Practicality and Comfort

Our owner considers this to be a good size car overall inside and out, especially with younger or older kids. She did make the point that if she was changing the car she would buy a bigger car, however, this was just for a change rather than because of any issues or dislikes. In addition to its generous space, our owner commented on how good the driving position is overall. Feel comfortable and like everything is adjustable enough to get nice and comfy! Whilst she doesn't really do long journeys on the motorway, she did comment on how quiet the car is when driving, with minimal wind noise. Parking is easy, given the size of the car, and this one comes with the parking sensors which make it even easier. Would have been good to have a parking camera, but not a deal breaker here. Visibility out the back seems much better than the BMW and Mercedes equivalents. Very easy to get your bits and bobs in and out of the car and of course you can lower the rear seats for more boot space for those extra long loads. The boot can easily fit a push chair in and can fit a few shopping bags around it when needed . Without push chair, could easily fit 6+ shopping bags. So no complaints here all around!

Reliability and Running Costs

On the reliability and running costs side, the A3 scores very high. Fuel efficiency seems very good, although our owner is not one to scroll through to the MPG to give us any real world figures. No major faults reported since purchase just over 3 years ago. The car has never failed an MOT, and servicing is just the usual wear and tear. Never had to take to the garage for any other issues, just tires and the usual items. So again, our owner scored the A3 very highly here. So far so good. On to looks and style.

Looks and Style

On the looks and style side, the A3 did OK. Its not the more heavily styled car and Audi have a tendancy to lean towards the squarer and more 'business casual' end of the elegance scale. But our owner felt the car looks smart, and she likes those looks overall. She never said "love" but definitely likes! More of the same on the inside too. Likes the look of the dash. Seats are not leather on this car, which would have been nice, but not an issue overall.

Features

In terms of features, we had our first gripe! The parking sensors seem to beep at everything! yes they are supposed to let you know you are getting close, but they seem a little too over active. The pop up screen on the infotainment system is very nice, which comes out of dash. Seems to have lots of on screen options. The handbrake is a button, rather than the traditional lever which is fine. Lots of controls on the steering wheel to control as with most other Audi models (generally they all share the same steering wheel so you end up with the same features, but our owner doesn't really use. Bluetooth for the phone is standard, Although electric seats is a cost option not fitted to this car. Electric mirrors are fitted to this car, but no folding option. This car has no sunroof either, but again, not a deal breaker. So all in all, our reviewer couldn't give this car more than a 7.0 out of 10.

Would I recommend it? YES

So to sum up, the, this is a good car, nice drive and no issues so far in the 3 years owned by our reviewer. Fuel efficiency is good. For this owner, this offers everything you need in a good small family car. So recommended indeed.